Filed: Saturday, 14th July 2007By: Matthew O'Greel

Sheffield United have said they will consider taking legal action against West Ham United in a bid for 'compensation'.

The Yorkshire club were refused permission by the High Court yesterday to appeal against an arbitration panel's decision to dismiss their claims over the Carlos Tevez affair as the court decided that the panel had acted within the law. A request to send the case to the Court of Appeal was therefore denied.

Paul Stothard, a solicitor for Denton Wilde Sapte who are currently representing the Blades subsequently revealed that his client would be seeking financial compensation from the Hammers having seen their bungled attempt to be reinstated to the Premier League end in failure.

"You can be fairly confident that the issue won’t rest here," Stothard said last night.

"Sheffield United are not precluded from taking further action against the Premier League or West Ham. Compensation would be top of the agenda because there are significant consequences financially for being relegated wrongfully, as we believe we have been."

Sheffield United had claimed that their campaign for reinstatement to the Premier League had been based upon 'Fairness in Football'. They said that West Ham had been treated too leniantly over the Tevez/Mascherano transfers - despite the Hammers landing a world-record £5.5m fine - and even sent a group of fans, headed by actor Sean Bean, to march on London under the 'Fairness' banner.

However somewhat embarrassingly for Mr.Bean and his fellow Blades it was then discovered that their club had broken the exact rule (rule U18) they were claiming West Ham United should have been expelled from the Premier League for, when it was revealed that they had prevented Steve Kabba from playing against them for Watford despite the Blades having sold him four months previously.

As a result the phoney 'Fairness in Football' campaign sunk without trace, disappearing almost overnight, whilst the real reason for the Blades' spiteful campaign has come to the fore - greed, and an attempt to extort as much money as they possibly can from the situation.

Sheffield have previously claimed that relegation cost them up to £50m, whilst their legal bills since relegation was confirmed after losing at home to Wigan on the final day of last season will no doubt run into millions.

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by Mark Hyett05:33PM 15th Jul 2007''I can't be the only person who's fed up of Sheffield United and this saga?
They have taken the shine off of last seasons heroics and West Ham never received the credit that they deserved.''

by matt (SUFC)03:24PM 15th Jul 2007''Get your facts straight sunshine, there was no third party influence with the Kabba deal. If there was anything, it was a gentlemen's agreement which Watford could have gone back on if they wanted.

Another thing: Carlos Tevez single handedly kept you up last year, Kabba didn't even score once for Watford.
I like West Ham, I admire the club's old youth policy but you have to admit that this whole affair has tarnished your club's image.''

by lilly07:19PM 14th Jul 2007''Hmmm....just one more dismal failure for Mr. Bean in a long list of dismal failures over the past three years, that includes his films, women, and support of a mediocre football club...''

by Marc Smith (SUFC)10:28AM 14th Jul 2007''Interesting take on the affair. The Kabba situation would actually rest with Watford if this indeed became an issue. Lets not forget that the Blades have not been found guilty of any breach of rule U18, where as WHU have and also been found to have consistently lied. So yes, the truth will out.''

by Darren Sharp10:06AM 14th Jul 2007''All this fairness in football rubbish, you can argue about Blades preventing Kabba playing them or other examples such as Liverpool playing a weak side against Fulham, helping them to secure 3 points (and the only points they had got for ages) whch helped them secure Premiership safety.

I think the Blades would have better luck suing Liverpool, since Premiership rules state that sides should play the strongest side available. They clearly played a weaker side, to allow them to rest players in advance of the Champions league final - this isn't the team they would have played if they needed the 3 points to secure a top 4 position.

Does this suggest possible match fixing? Possible conspiracy thinking West Ham would lose their game with Man United and Sheffield United and Wigan have at least a draw.

I also think at this time Liverpool were potentially interested in signing Tevez and Yossi, and probably thought that a relegated WH would make that transaction easier - and potentially cheaper too.''